Conventionally, golf clubs are carried in a container designed for that purpose which generally comprises a elongated cylindrical body closed at one end and open at the opposite end. The interior of the cylinder defines a club carrying area in which the clubs are normally stored handle down so that the club heads are beyond the open end of the bag. Conventionally pockets are sewn or otherwise attached to the interior surface of the bag for carrying ancillary equipment such as extra golf balls, tees, golf clothing and the like. Golf bags come in a variety of sizes and weights with the more desirable bags composed of leather or similar type of material with relatively large pockets. Needless to say such bags are very heavy and not readily carried by the average golfer if the golfer desire to walk the course for beneficial exercise.
The golf cart was developed to ease the burden of the golfer by providing vehicle which is pulled by a handle and which is adapted to carry the golf bag. Golf carts are normally designed to be collapsed into a more compact form for carrying in an automobile, and the like. These carts are conventionally provided with a pivoting handle which can be folded down against the bag and with wheels which can be folded into a more compact position. However, even in the folded position, conventional golf carts do take a substantial amount of room, particularly in combination with the golf bag, and in addition, the bag and cart combination are cumbersome to lift such as for placement in an automobile trunk or the like. Even more important however, with the advent of newer more compact automobiles, trunk space has been severely limited and it is often impossible to load a golf bag and cart in the space provided within the trunk, even when the cart is in the folded position and impossible to carry more than one bag and cart combination in many compact autos.
Some attempts have been made to bind the golf cart and golf bag into a single unit which presumably would be somewhat lighter and more compact. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,061 (Watson) discloses a golf club container and cart which is generally a cylindrical container provided with a wheel assembly which can be extended for use and which folds back against the container for storage. The container is provided with a complicated mechanism for holding golf clubs with the club head toward the bottom of the container so that the clubs can be rotated within the cylinder and brought into a position adjacent the cover through which access to the club is achieved. In addition, space is provided within the cylinder to store shoes, golf bags and tees and other equipment. The device can be made compact by removing the wheels, however in that case the wheels are a separate element and require additional storage space.
Another similar golf bag and cart combination is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,597 which discloses a rigid cylindrical element for containing golf clubs and which is provided with a rigid cover and wheels are attached directly to the lower portion of the cylindrical element. This device is primarily adapted to be carried on the back of a recreational vehicle and thus it is formed of suitably weather-resistant material so that it can be stored outside and still provide protection for the golf equipment contained in the cylindrical container. Space requirements, appearance and ease of use are not primary concerns.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,152 discloses a golf cart which is adapted to be attached to a conventional golf bag and which is provided with a lower spine on which wheels can be removably attached for storage purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,732 (Schenauer) is a combined club container is a U-shaped body provided with dividers for storing the clubs in which the open area of the container receives a portion of the cart wheels when in the folded position. The wheels necessarily extend from the U-shaped body since the wheels must be large enough to provide suitable ground clearance when utilizing the device as a golf cart. Thus a substantial amount of additional space is taken up by the wheels even when in the folded position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,074 (Owen) also discloses a golf container combination in which the wheels can be folded into a more compact position alongside the container. Owen is primarily concerned with a structurally strong device which can serve as a seat for the golfer when the device is tilted into an essentially horizontal position supported by the wheels and the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,684 (Street et al.) relates to a golf bag system in which the wheels are retracted into a storage space provided by an extension around the bottom of the container. However, in order to fit in the space the wheels are necessarily small and do not provide sufficient ground clearance to effectively use the device as a golf cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,708 (Sato) describes yet another golf club container and cart combination. However, Sato is provided with an external container or pocket which extends from the club container thus adding to the space required to store the combination. In addition, the wheels merely fold up against the exterior of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,409,323 (Wells), U.S. Pat. No. 1,494,668 (Critchlow) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,726,245 (Shelton) relate to golf bags or containers for golf clubs which are provided with various storage containers in the center of the bag for the storage of golf bags, tees and the like.
These devices are deficient in that, in most cases, even if the folded position for storage, they are not particularly compact and thus they will not conveniently fit in small trunk space of many automobiles.